Bull City Fair Trade, the Triangle's only nonprofit, fair trade store, has been a member of the Durham community for 33 years. Since our founding in 1992 as One World Market, we have partnered with thousands of artisans & farmers in dozens of countries to achieve our mission of connecting the global to the local and ensuring fair wages & working conditions for all. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, our goal is not to turn a profit for ourselves, but to cover our overhead costs (including living wages for our staff) and to continue to invest in regular purchases from our artisan partners. The years coming out of the COVID pandemic have been tough for small brick-and-mortar retail, and we have unfortunately seen the closures of many fair trade stores across the country over the past few years. This is a huge loss not only for the local communities where those shops were located, but for the fair trade movement as a whole.
We are not exempt from these challenges, and this year has been especially difficult. The brands we buy from have faced an ever-changing tariff situation that has resulted in sometimes exorbitant additional import costs, which are now being passed on to us in the form of price increases. The nature of our business has always been seasonal, with the majority of our sales from the year coming from holiday shopping. However, decreased sales during the "non-holiday" months this year, from factors like inclement weather closures and the months-long construction on our street this summer, have increased the debt burden required for us to continue to cover our costs and purchase inventory. We hope to be part of the Durham community for years to come, but to be transparent, continuing to operate at our current level of debt is not sustainable for the long term.
We hesitate to ask for money often, since our volunteers and customers already support the store with their time and treasure, but the reality is that our funding model relies on contributions in addition to product sales. We have set an ambitious goal of raising $15,000 from supporters this month to help us pay down our debt and make up the gap between increased costs and decreased sales. Contribute to this fundraiser now through Giving Tuesday (December 2) to have your gift counted as part of our fall campaign. Whether or not you are able to give at this time, we hope you will join us on Small Business Saturday (November 29) for a belated store anniversary celebration and wrap-up to the campaign.
No donation is too small; everything helps. With deep gratitude, we thank you in advance for your support of our mission!
